Cookbook:Fruit

This is a list of all the fruits generally considered edible by various cultures and used for culinary purposes. Some are not widely used and would be hard to get a hold of, but they offer interesting alternatives to the common or garden varieties.

Note that this is a list of "fruits" in the culinary sense of the word, not the botanical sense of the word. Consequently, items that are botanically classified as fruits, but are usually referred to in cooking as "vegetables" (such as the tomato) will be in the vegetables section, and not here. For a discussion of the botanical vs. culinary definitions of that part of a plant called the "fruit" see Fruit at Wikipedia.

There exist also many fruits that are certainly edible and locally popular but for various reasons have not become widespread in their use. Often this is due to marketing considerations, more than anything.

Contents

Fruits of temperate climates are almost universally borne on trees or woody shrubs or lianas. They will not grow adequately in the tropics, as they need a period of cold (a chilling requirement) each year before they will flower. The apple, pear, cherry, and plum are the most widely grown and eaten, owing to their adaptability. Many other fruits are important regionally but do not figure prominently in commerce. Many sorts of small fruit on this list are gathered from the wild, just as they were in Neolithic times.

The Family Rosaceae dominates the temperate fruits, both in numbers and in importance. The pome fruits, stone fruits, brambles, and strawberry are all members of Rosaceae.

In non-technical usage, berry means any small fruit that can be eaten whole and lacks objectionable seeds. The bramble fruits, compound fruits of the Genus Rubus, are some of the most popular pseudo-berries:

Fruits in this category are not hardy to extreme cold, as the preceding temperate fruits are, yet tolerate some frost and may have a modest chilling requirement. Notable among these are natives of the Mediterranean: